The moment the Nine Tails appeared, Uchiha Izumi activated a quadruple combo of Ōkuninushi-no-Mikoto's abilities and locked it down on the spot.
First, sever fate. Second, cut fortune. Third, amplify grief, fear, sorrow, and dread. Fourth… eliminate desire.
The freshly released Nine Tails let out a howl of anguish—its heart sank immediately.
Because it had materialized right on top of the Amaterasu flames that Indra had launched earlier… which had been reflected by Itachi's Yata Mirror.
The ever-burning black flames wrapped around the Nine Tails like a curse.
As long as the target existed, Amaterasu would never fade.
The beast thrashed violently, screaming in pain.
Now stripped of its six desires, the Nine Tails could no longer see, hear, smell, or sense—its once-prized ability to detect malice had completely failed.
Izumi had also enhanced its tactile sensitivity to the extreme, so the burning of the black flames seared like molten lava against its flesh.
The pain was unbearable. The Nine Tails smashed its head against the earth, wailing.
An overwhelming fear clawed up from the depths of its soul. The more it thought about it, the more wronged it felt. And then—
It broke down crying.
"WAAAAAAAH!"
"Is this world ever going to give me a break?! I'm always the one getting abused!"
"If you want chakra, just ask! I'd give it to you—I'm not that stingy!"
Uchiha Itachi: "…"
Uchiha Izumi: "…"
Izumi's heart softened—maybe she had gone a little too far. She released the Six Desire Lock and gently said:
"Okay, then, give me your chak—"
But before she could even finish the sentence, the Nine Tails had already bolted, eyes wide in panic.
It had just seen something horrifying.
Two pairs of Rinnegan.
Just one was enough to bully it to death… and now there were two?!
How was it supposed to fight that?
It only had half its body left. If it died again, it would have to reincarnate.
It didn't want to die.
It really didn't want to start over again.
No way.
"You little fox… you DARE run from me?!" Izumi snapped. She'd tried to be kind. She'd even attempted to be friends. And the moment she showed mercy, it turned tail and ran?
Typical fox—cunning and deceitful!
Unforgivable!
Boom!
A pink Susanoo appeared behind her—elegant, feminine, adorned with beaded tassels, sacred jewels, and wielding a glowing lantern in one hand. A divine banner and sword were strapped to its back.
The Winged Susanoo of Izumi launched into pursuit.
"Hmph. Run all you want, little fox. You'll regret tricking me!"
Izumi unleashed Ōkuninushi-no-Mikoto's power again, dragging the Nine Tails' fate line and luck line to their lowest point in its existence.
One girl, one beast—one fleeing, the other chasing.
Along the way, civilians and officials witnessed the giant fox and colossal warrior clashing across the horizon. Some dropped to their knees in terror, mistaking them for gods descending from the heavens.
The Nine Tails ran as fast as it could. As long as it ran fast enough, she couldn't catch up.
It stumbled, tripped, and tumbled the entire way, but still it ran.
It had finally shaken off the Amaterasu flames using a cloak of chakra. Now, only one thought filled its mind:
Escape.
Run to the edge of the world.
Somewhere no one would ever find it.
Eventually, Izumi's chakra would run dry. She'd lose the strength to chase.
It could hide in a deep forest or forgotten cave for another thousand years.
Surely by then, that terrifying girl would be dead.
If it couldn't win, it would just outlive them!
After all—
Tailed Beasts don't serve anyone.
"Damn you, Nine Tails! Don't let me catch you!" Izumi shouted, intensifying her spiritual tether.
"I WON'T give up on freedom!" the fox screamed inside.
By now, its legs were practically mangled.
It had tripped so many times it had started folding in ways legs shouldn't.
Everything was going wrong.
A volcano had randomly erupted and singed its fur.
An avalanche had come out of nowhere and nearly buried it alive.
It kept falling into bottomless pits, ramming into cliffs, and getting injured in the worst places.
Of its nine tails, only four were left.
Izumi had sliced off the rest with her Yasaka Magatama.
The only things keeping it going now were its massive chakra reserves…
…and its stubborn will to survive.
Its chakra formed phantom limbs to keep it moving.
And finally—it was working. It could feel her presence fading.
She was tiring. Just a little more…
Hold on, Kurama! the Nine Tails cheered for itself.
But just as it tried to cross a misty mountain range lined with temples—
A scruffy old Taoist priest appeared in its path, floating in midair, standing with one foot on the other.
He blocked the way.
"Get out of my way!" the Nine Tails roared and charged forward.
If it couldn't beat those two Rinnegan freaks, it could at least squash this old man.
In front of a hundred-meter-tall fox, the old man looked like an ant.
The Nine Tails figured just brushing against it would vaporize him.
But the taoist didn't move. He simply raised a hand—
And summoned a taijitu—a glowing yin-yang symbol that bloomed from his palm.
CLANG!
Before it even registered what happened, the Nine Tails was flying backward, smacked out of the air.
"What… was that?!"
That soft-looking palm strike had flipped it over and nearly shattered its bones.
Shaking, the Nine Tails struggled back to its feet.
Who the hell was this old man?!
"RUN!"
It didn't even hesitate. It turned and bolted.
But before it could escape, the ground beneath it erupted—
A massive snake, equal in size, launched from underground and slammed into the Nine Tails, sending it flying again.
Already battered from the chase, it couldn't brace in time.
Bones shattered. Dust exploded. The earth cracked beneath it.
The Nine Tails collapsed, eyes blank.
I'm done. I give up. Do what you want.
"I'm just gonna die and reincarnate again…"
The snake hissed.
The old man landed on its head and raised his hands.
Eight glowing swords appeared around him.
"Eight-Sword Formation!"
The blades streaked through the air and nailed the Nine Tails to the ground—each pinning a limb or tail.
Tears of humiliation welled in its eyes.
Being a fox is suffering.
It had never been so humiliated in its entire existence.
The old Taoist priest examined it carefully.
Then suddenly said:
"Hei zhi ma wa, bai zhi ma fa, hei zhi ma bai zhi ma wa fa ha!" (Black sesame, white sesame—pop goes the weasel!)
Nine Tails: "…?"
"…Are you from Tushan, little fox?"
It blinked, stunned.
Wait—how did it understand that?
The voice echoed inside its head.
Mind-to-mind communication?
Where did I even come from…? From the Ten Tails? From the Sage's body?
Before it could ponder more, two glowing Susanoo descended from the heavens.
Itachi and Izumi landed before the snake and stood protectively over the Nine Tails.
The old man looked up, eyes narrowing in intrigue.
They were clearly just thirteen years old… yet the energy inside them—
Overwhelming.
"Let me handle him," Itachi said telepathically. "You seal the Nine Tails."
"Got it." Izumi nodded.
She pulled a sacred banner from her back and waved it.
Wind howled. The skies darkened. Mist rolled in.
The eight swords dislodged from the Nine Tails and flew back to the Taoist priest.
The Nine Tails stared at the banner.
It froze.
The cloth shimmered in radiant hues. Celestial light flowed from it. Yin and yang energy twisted in delicate spirals, with runes swimming like tadpoles across the surface.
Just looking at it… crushed its will.
It lay down respectfully, bowed—
And willingly transformed into a stream of chakra, entering the banner.
The old man didn't stop her.
Instead, he smiled.
"Zhang Sanfeng greets you, fellow cultivators."
"…Zhang Sanfeng?" Itachi blinked.
He had seen the old man strike down the Nine Tails with a single palm—
That kind of force was on par with Shinra Tensei.
Was this guy… some kind of immortal cultivator?
And that phrase—black sesame white sesame—wasn't that from a TV show?
Young Zhang Sanfeng, to be exact? That sword technique earlier… also from that same show.
Wait—wasn't this supposed to be Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber's world?
Why was someone from a different universe here?!
Itachi narrowed his eyes. This man was dangerous.
Izumi stood silently behind him, having heard everything through their shared red thread.
This old man… was no ordinary figure.
She activated Ōkuninushi-no-Mikoto.
Threads of fate lit up around Zhang Sanfeng—so vast, so dense, she froze.
Every line—of fate, fortune, emotion—was wrapped in layers of yin-yang mist.
He was stronger than both of them combined.
"…So this is the danger the system warned me about," Itachi thought.
Not Indra. Not Asura. Not even Death itself.
This man—Zhang Sanfeng—was the true apex threat of this realm.
And that snake under his feet wasn't a snake.
It was a fully ascended dragon.
"…I am Zhu Yuanzhang. Courtesy name Guorui, childhood name Chongba. I greet the Immortal Master Sanfeng," Itachi said smoothly, not missing a beat.
"This is my fiancée, Ma Xiuying," he added, giving Izumi an alias.
Zhang Sanfeng rubbed his fingers together, calculating something.
Then his expression froze.
"…Fate of the Hidden Dragon? A destined emperor?"
"But this kind of fate—while fit to rule a nation—brings doom to all who love you. Family, siblings… wives."
"…Tell me, young man. Are your parents still alive?"
Itachi: "…"
Wow. Straight to the heart, huh?
But Zhang wasn't wrong. If this was Zhu Yuanzhang, then yes—by this point in his life, his family was almost entirely gone.
In the midst of famine and war, his parents had starved. He and his brother barely survived.
They didn't even have money for a burial.
Seeing Itachi's silence, Zhang nodded knowingly.
"I see. As expected…"
"What sect are you from, boy?" Zhang asked.
"Sun and moon together form the character for light. I was trained by the Ming Cult and cultivate a power known as chakra," Itachi replied with ease.
"Ming Cult? From Persia?" Zhang mused. "If I recall correctly, in Persian yoga philosophy, chakra refers to energy centers in the body—from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. In the Central Plains, we call it meridians or qi points."
Itachi: "…"
Seeing his confusion, Zhang explained:
"I trained in Shaolin as a youth under Master Chengkong. He taught me the Muscle-Tendon Changing Sutra, said to have been brought from Persia by Bodhidharma himself!"
"…Wait," Itachi said, narrowing his eyes. "I thought your lineage traced back to Master Jueyuan of Shaolin, not Chengkong. Are you… a fake?"
Zhang blinked. "Ah—my mistake! I'm getting old. It's hard to tell dream from reality sometimes…"
He tapped his head.
"My soul has wandered too far. First I traveled to the late Song dynasty and dueled a man named Dong Tianbao, which inspired the creation of Tai Chi.
Then I studied under a sage monk during the Southern Song and learned to communicate with beasts.
Later, I stumbled into Shaolin and learned the Muscle-Tendon Sutra from Master Chengkong.
Somewhere along the way I met a woman named Qin Sirong and learned the Eight Swords from Sword Manor's Yi Tianxing and his nephew.
Eventually, I fought a rogue known as the Carefree King and mastered the Divine Tai Chi Technique."
"Now I've returned… and encountered a fox, and two very strange children."
Itachi: "…"
You still want to say you're not some immortal cultivator? You've crossed timelines like it's nothing!
TL/N:
Naruto? More like Narutianxia. Zhang Sanfeng, Zhu Yuanzhang, Ma Xiuying… I genuinely don't know what genre this is anymore.